Local movie fans know that The Cleveland International Film Festival wrapped up this past weekend. A colleague and I saw two films and one series of shorts, all of which were worthwhile. We saw Anina, a richly illustrated animated movie from Uruguay and Monica Z, a biopic from Sweden about the jazz singer Monica Zetterlund. The shorts selection we saw featured a range of films, from an intense look at the war in Syria to a black comedy about the perils of an April Fool’s Day prank in a classroom entitled Fools Day…watch out if your coffee smells of gingerbread!
Speaking of April Fool’s – in its honor, here’s a list from Flavorwire of the 50 Funniest Movies Ever Made. I’m not sure if I agree with all of their selections, and I know Maureen would be disappointed that Dumb and Dumber isn’t on the list, but there’s many, especially the older ones, that I need to put on my viewing list.
WEEKLY MOVIE REVIEW: I love both the Coen Brothers and folk music so was excited to watch Inside Llewyn Davis this weekend, their latest film about the folk music scene in New York City just pre-Dylan, specifically a week in 1961. Equally funny and quirky and wistful, the acting was great and the look of the film was amazing, with colors taken from period album covers like Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and convincing re-creations of the clothing, cars and smoky bars of the era. The music was produced by T. Bone Burnett, a musical legend, and many of the characters were inspired by actual musicians (see this article from Slate). The movie did a great job portraying the earnestness of those early performers who were seeking “authentic” folk music.
It’s catch up time, so I’m just going to list the movie releases – you can click on them to get a little more info:
Movie releases 3-18-14
Frozen – Blu-Ray and DVD
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Blu-Ray and DVD
American Hustle – Blu-Ray and DVD
Saving Mr. Banks – Blu-Ray and DVD
Yogawoman – DVD
Movie releases 3-25-14
Delivery Man – Blu-Ray and DVD
Walking with Dinosaurs – Blu-Ray and DVD
Wolf of Wall Street – Blu-Ray and DVD
The Great Beauty – Blu-Ray and DVD
Viola – DVD
Let the Fire Burn – DVD
Veep, the Complete Second Season – DVD
Californication, Season 6 – DVD
Movie releases 4-1-14
Anchorman 2 – Blu-Ray and DVD
At Middleton – Blu-Ray and DVD
Happy Watching!
~ Dori
Read it or Weep 